AG: Archive - Freedom (video)

This blog is still a work in progress, so I thought this video would be a good way to test out how we can share videos in the future.

From February this year, some of the team thought it would be interesting to interview some members of our local to church to help illustrate the theme 'Freedom'. Each person was simply asked to share their thoughts on the phrases:

"Jesus has given me freedom from..." and "Jesus has given me freedom to...".

(It was our first video so please excuse sound and picture problems - the standard will get higher... honest ;) )

(54772 KB)
Watch on posterous

"For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

2 Corinthians 3:17 (New Living Translation)

Posted via web from AG Swansea | Abertawe

Easter by Bjorn Amundsen

Thanks to fellow twitter SaintBeagle sharing this video on his blog, I thought I'd share it with you here. It's a stunningly powerful video using motion typography to illustrate a wonderful poem by Sharon Irving. If you want to use this video in any of your own Church or worship services then you can buy it here (new version including a music soundtrack)

A visual manifestation of Sharon Irving's poetry.
Made in After Effects with the help of Helvetica.

Part 1 in a series

Video for Easter

The Jesus story is brought to life in these stunning new visuals from Big Book Media - cut to the soundtrack of "History Maker" by Delirious.



The new films are made by BigBookMedia, who offer some free downloads.
http://www.bigbookmedia.com/

Lyrical Theology with Shai Linne

An update has been a long time coming I know, but I hope this video makes up for it. Thanks to the wonderful serendipity of Twitter, I found this through a fellow tweeter who I found locally (http://twitter.com/saintbeagle). I'm only just finding out about Shai Linne and his hip hop ministry. He has a few albums released and so far it seems that they match the quality of this song. This song is so eloquent and sums up nearly everything that we're trying to learn through living with Jesus.

Poem: Not me!

This is a poem by Dionne Williams AKA Poetical Princess that I mentioned this morning in Bible study. This poem is about not letting our environment dictate who we are and what we allow ourselves to become. *The video includes some disturbing images, adding to the power of the words.

What A Glorious Day

Okay here i go my first blog :] wewp (:
So here's my plan I'm going to talk about afterglow :) This amazing musical worship service which I enjoy so much (: It's quite new to us all but i find it's gone really well :D
One of my favorite songs would have to be "The Greatest Day in History" also known as "Happy Day". It's such a good song :] Catchy and got a good beat to it :) See check out the chorus!
♪♫ "Oh happy day
Happy day
You wash my sin away
Oh happy day
Happy day
I'll never be the same
Oh no
Forever I am changed" ♪♫


sound cool or what?!
Well that's my favorite song for you :) 
I must say to me afterglow is something I'm excited about all the time. basically everyday I think to myself afterglow in *whichever amount of days it is*. I just feel so happy at the actual thing as well. It's nice to be with a group of people singing songs and basically being together :) one thing I've noticed is that when I'm there and we're singing I stop in the middle of a song just to put a huge grin on my face! Haha it's random i guess but I actually enjoy it that much! if I feel this happy about it I'm sure a lot of people would feel the same way!
You can come join us on Saturday to check it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy.
By Nessa :]♥

What if Starbucks Marketed like a Church?

We hope your experience of church isn't like this parable. Some important lessons for us all since it's so easy to lose sight of what the Church is really for. Who wants coffee? :)

New Jesus movie - join the movement!

http://newjesusmovie.com/

Chris Tomin - Love

Visit: http://www.youtube.com/user/christomlinmusic

for more of Chris Tomlin's music.

Oh, The Temptation

2 Hidden Cameras
A bunch of Kids
1 Marshmallow each

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

Who will 'Stand By Me'?

I almost forgot about this wonderful video, but just found it again after finding the 'Playing for Change' album on iTunes. It's a wonderfully creative way to promote peace with artists from all over the world. Enjoy!

The Good News According To Rob Bell

Some people went to Greenbelt yesterday (Christian festival at Cheletenham racecourse). Many were hoping to see Rob Bell from Mars Hill give his 'Drops like stars' talk. Unfortunately this weekend was his only visit to the UK this year, so the large indoor venue was packed out before many had a chance to queue. He is very popular with youth groups across the world due to the simple, clear and well made NOOMA video series (now renamed Flannel). Luckily this afternoon I happened to find this amazing little video of him summing up Christianity. Serendipity is wonderful, since I was simply searching for new web themes at the time.


I hope your eyes are opened by this. If you want to find out more about what he's saying follow the links above for info. There are also free podcasts (link changed, thanks to Lon).
Or better yet, grab a Bible and read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for yourself. There's nothing better than going to the good book and praying for guidance.

More AYC: German mime

I missed the arts festival during the congress so didn't get to see this. I heard so much afterward about this powerful mime, so it's great that someone uploaded it for us all to see. In case you're wondering, the song is 'Everything' by the band Lifehouse.
(sorry about the quality of the camera work, for some reason none of the official filming has been realised, which to me is criminal!)

More Youth Congress media...

Hi again,
I just found the official theme song to the congress kindly posted on the net to share.

AY Congress Theme Song
Asculta mai multe audio Diverse

Also here's a video that was used in one of the main sermons. It got the whole audience laughing together, great stuff.


The theme for the whole congress was 'It's Your Turn'
None of us left without the enthusiasm to take up the challenge.

European Congress and road trip video!

11 days of fun and adventure!
Here's Swansea SdA Media's first production. We hope to have many more videos to share soon. Thanks to Duane for the camera work, Chris and Eiddon for the editing.

München '09 - We're back from our adventures...

We're back, with loads of new ideas that we want to put into practice.
Over the next few days we'll share some pictures and videos and try to sum up our experiences at the European Youth Congress in Munich (first for 5 years). Some we're lucky enough to stay on after the congress to have a road trip adventure around the Alps in Italy and France, more of that later.

Here's one of the highlights of the congress, a type of mime performed by some very creative German youth. UV light can be handy...



What are favourite memories of the trip?
What can we do to get back to showing Jesus love in the community?

'Home'- An amazing documentary

Watch this full documentary which follows on from the aerial photography of Yann Artus Bertrand. Although I don't agree with all the billions of years that the narrator mentions, it is so wonderful to see the astonishing beauty of creation. We have almost lost our connection to nature. Let's learn from the world that we were created for, not from the worlds we create.

"Our earth relies on a balance, in which every being has a role to play and exists only through the existence of another being. A subtle fragile harmony that is easily shattered".

To see the video in HD or widescreen, go here.

Matthew 25... and politics?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Jim Wallis
www.thedailyshow.com

I happened to find this video of the Christian activist Jim Wallis on the 'Daily Show' (a comedy news show from the US, that does well to tackle serious issues and poke fun at prejudice). The presenter Jon Stewart is Jewish (not strict) so he's not scared to tackle serious religious issues. Anyway....
The point of showing this video is, that so often people who say they are doing the 'right thing' are usually ignoring what Jesus taught.
Here's what Jesus said in Matthew 25 (34-45):

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

"Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'

"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'

There is so much injustice in the world, and Jesus has given us a commission to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. "It's a commission that can only be fulfilled because people of faith and hope believe that the world can be changed. And it is that very belief that changes the world. And if not us, who will believe? " (paraphrase of the ending of Jim Wallis book 'God's Politics').

Remember Lisa Sullivan's quote-

"We are the one's we've been waiting for"

Youth Congress - It's your turn! Munich '09

We've been talking about this event for a long time, but I'd like to share some information so we can begin preparing and making the most of a wonderful opportunity. The congress happens only once every 4-5 years, where youth from all over Europe get a chance to meet up to share and learn from each others adventures with Jesus. A few of us fortunate enough to be at the last congress in Wroclaw, Poland in 2004. This year we're looking forward to another chance to meet up with thousands of other believers to gain encouragement. Check out this video on the newly updated website www.aycongress.org

(You've got to love the spelling of 'thousands' near the beginning :)

Camp meeting - Prestatyn

Hi everyone,
It's been a fun few weeks travelling for me, first Sweden then a church camp in Prestatyn. I'd like to hopefully share some of my experience at the camp. The youth meetings (young adults apparently since the teens had a packed tent with more lively praise music) were a brilliant mix of music, drama (sketches) and powerful talks. Each talk by the speaker Tim Gillespie was recorded and will be available soon on the net. Here's last Tuesday's talk on Mark 4: 35-41, "Jesus Calms the Storm" (anyone remember the Bible study we did on this earlier in the year?).
To see more media from the camp, check out: www.secadventist.org/secMedia.php